Finance firms don’t expect to hire

Hiring intentions have slumped in the finance industry, reflecting a lack of confidence in the economy, according to research from a recruitment firm.

The ‘2015/16 Michael Page Australia Salary and Employment Outlook' showed 67 per cent of financial employers did not anticipate increasing headcount in the next 12 months.

The survey showed the majority of respondents (56 per cent) rated their confidence in the national economy as ‘fair', while 21 per cent rated it as ‘poor'.

Michael Page Australia regional director of finance Adrian Oldham said that while hiring activity has improved since last year, job flow still remained underwhelming.

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Meanwhile, 77 per cent of financial employers expected to increase staff salaries, but 60 per cent of respondents were only offering a 3-5 per cent increase.

More than half (54 per cent) of the respondents said they would not be handing out bonuses to staff this year.

New South Wales had the highest hiring intentions as it had a wider range of employers across institutional banking, retail and consumer banking, insurance and wealth management.

There was strong demand for financial planners and paraplanners who focused on retirement, and boosting wealth within superannuation and other retirement strategies, including property.

Also in high demand were risk and compliance roles, as well as financial planners and paraplanners in general.

With the increased focus on gender diversity over the last 18 months, financial services firms were expected to hire more women over the next 12 months.

"This is particularly evident in financial services, which is historically male dominated, especially within the revenue generation and technology verticals, as well as executive leadership," the report said.